I, personally, do not feel pity towards Berat, per se--but a tremendous respect. He has stared death and weakness in the face--and has resolved that he will not succum, that he will triumph.

They could hardly be more different! And personally I agree that Berat is a very strong person, inside.

(I wonder what a conversation between him and Ezri Dax would be like. Somehow...I'd think they'd both have a lot to say to each other, and could find their struggles have a lot in common....)

I'm not sure how much they could relate, since compared to her Berat is very young. At the time of this story, Gul Berat is 43 years old (about 32 years old in 24th-century human terms, physically speaking). While that means they'd probably appear as though physically the same age, Dax's perspective would make them very different psychologically.

(BTW...you know a story I'd love to see you write? I wonder what a young Dax was like? Not any of the hosts, but the symbiont, after it first budded or hatched or was born, or however you think symbionts are born. Where did it get its personality and opinions before its first joining, and how did it think and communicate?)

BrotherBenny wrote:

I'm waiting to see Spirodopoulos's reaction and that of the other Starfleet people when they see the damage the Breen did to Earth, to Starfleet Headquarters, and to the Golden Gate bridge. If I were seeing that after knowing that the Breen had previous been neutral, my first instinct would be to toss a grenade into their suits.

I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes!

Thanks!

As to that reaction...well, you'll have to wait and see for that. Right now, given that they DO live in the "post-Photoshop era," I think just images alone aren't going to be anywhere near enough to get the reality of it through to them. That's why they need the results of those tests on the Trager itself.

Gul Re'jal wrote:

Nerys Ghemor wrote:

Berat's not as patient as you would think...I happen to know that underneath, he gets VERY ticked-off with Speros. Speros despises Berat because of his physical disability (also for his youth, but mainly because he's disabled), and Berat knows it. It's very hard for Berat--regardless of this being an older man and a more senior gul--not to just yell at Speros and insult him right back.

It's hard, but he still manages not to do it. It takes a lot of inner strength not to kick back someone, who treats you like trash, especially if you have a nerve to do it, but choose not to.

You're very right...he struggles very much not to return Speros' rudeness (and even in this you can still see that he speaks a bit more sharply to Speros than he does to most people), but I think he has decided he wants to be the bigger person.